Money Rebellion protesters at protesting the AIG golf tournament

Climate protesters disrupted the AIG Women’s Open last Sunday by rushing onto the green on the 17th hole. The campaigners, from Money Rebellion, were protesting AIG’s insurance of major fossil fuel projects including the highly controversial East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

Five members of Money Rebellion – an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion which targets financial institutions and insurers with ties to the fossil fuel industry – seat off flares and held banners reading ‘AIG is a climate criminal’ and ‘AIG stop insuring climate crisis’ in the final round of the golf tournament. AIG is one of the world’s leading insurers of oil and gas projects, with links to major fossil fuel projects around the world.

Jane Clarke from Money Rebellion said: “AIG are insuring climate breakdown by enabling deadly fossil fuel projects to pump out more and more greenhouse gasses. AIG know the science and are happy to protect their profits by cutting off insurance for homeowners facing floods and fires, caused by climate change. The executives making these decisions are climate criminals. Instead of sponsoring golf events to clean their image, they must stop insuring all new fossil fuel projects now.”

Melanie Oldham from Better Brazoria Clean Air and Clean Water said: “AIG is insuring methane gas expansion, including the disastrous Freeport LNG export facility in my neighborhood, which had a massive explosion and towering blaze of fire last year. We need to immediately cease insurance for destructive and dangerous export of methane like Freeport LNG.”

Unlike 23 other insurance companies, AIG has refused to rule out support for EACOP. The pipeline and associated Tilenga oil field are expected to displace over 100,000 people across Uganda and Tanzania, with people losing the land they rely on for farming and animal raising, and many will be forcibly removed from their homes.

Zaki Mamdoo, StopEACOP Campaign Coordinator said: “AIG must make a clear commitment that it will not underwrite EACOP. Any insurer which would provide coverage for such a project is immediately complicit in all its associated destruction, abuse and exploitation. Insurance giants like AIG need to depart from profit-driven motives and adopt stringent underwriting policies which exclude support for projects which perpetuate injustice and harm. Instead, insurance coverage must be directed towards protecting vulnerable communities, mitigating climate risks, and promoting a radical transition to renewable energy alternatives.”

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